New stuff added!!

Great execution Aloha Station, carving a 3D pineapple is rugged. I'm with the majority that big and massive is impressive!

Killer job! Great character, awesome color. I still have not perfected getting the bottom of these dudes flat. The angle grinder has really helped out though!

BIG Tikis DO rule!!
And yeah Tom, Hukilau was quite an event, but I wanna see MORE carvers there...come on now, it's the Greatest show on earth!!!!!!
Good seeing ya Tom, can't wait to see all the photos you shot.
Last time I saw you Tom, I was pretty hurting from the night before, but I rally'd and doubled the fun the next night at Mai Kai!

Nice colours on the pineapple...cool

Now that's impressive. Well done!

Awesome

Fantastic stuff Tom!

Here's something a little bit different. There is a local taco place that has painted ceiling tiles. While there one night my wife and kids questioned me why I didn't paint one and bring it in. With no good reason I blew it off and went on my way. Last week the my office building started doing some renovations and just happen to be throwing away some cieling tiles. As a firm believer the relationship between coincidence and artist inspiration - I grabbed a couple tiles and headed home. Blew the sawdust off my paints and got busy. I will be signing the tile with my family's initials (ABCT) before handing over to the restaurant. Hopefully I'll get some free tacos??

Super Cool! Nice to see a broad range of artistic ability!

Oh and I hope you get some free taco's

Well done sir!

Free Tacos for this guy!

Sooooooooo, whatcha carvin these dayz?

Mahalo

McTiki

don't tell me...

Tijuana Flats????

Muy Bien Amigo.

Jeff - yes. There is one right down the street from my house. The wife is a big fan.

Cool beans ..... or should I say frijoles?

Free tacos? I'm on my way over!!!

My neighbor in the hospital, Nuclear Medicine, has some painted ceiling tiles over the camera for the patients to look at while being scanned - but none of them near as good as your's. Great subject matter too.

i love free ... and tacos!?!

yeah man, I'm a fan of the Flats myself...

they used to have "TACO TUESDAY"...like 2 big tacos, chips and a drink for 5 bones...was one here in the neighborhood & guess they raised the rent on 'em & they bailed and never reopened. I miss the place!

Def an awesome place! The original is right down the street from my place...they are EVERYWHERE in Orlando. The creator was a UCF business student who turned a good idea into a GREAT success.

Did you deliver it yet?

damn it Tom! every time I see that "free tacos" title I get a little rattled...

now I'm gonna have to drive to other end of town for some of their food...

Taco Tuesday tonight! I will be delivering it after work.

No free tacos - It was a busy night and barely even saw the manager. I hope it fits their ceiling??

On to the next project. Wooden Tiki Shot Mug. Inspired by the multiple face posts that adorned many of the tiki lounges of old. 4 faces each blending with the other - carved in Mahogany. I also took 2-ALOHAs and wrapping around the bottom, each starting with the last letter of the other. This was a fun experiment - I have more plans for this design. I started this one with a scrap of wood - the next will be more planned out.

[ Edited by: AlohaStation 2012-05-18 10:19 ]

Is that a 1 inch grid Tom making those 4 inches tall? SWEET!

nice!

Each face sharing his eyes with his neighbor. Very clever.

That 4 way mug is great! It's hard for me to believe that when you look at it, you say it needs more planning and when I look at, it blows my mind how much planning went into this! Great concept and awesome carving!!!!

MDM - yep 4".
Poly - when I started this it was just a piece cut off something else sitting in my scrap box. The next one will be turned on the lathe before carving. I want to make the shot glass hole more precise (will have a shot glass in hand) and turn the bottom so it will be more stable. I had no direction when I started this one and just had another one of those AHA! moments by the time it was finished. It was a little bit of a pain trying to find a shot glass that fit - as opposed to making the glass fit. Glamour shot pics to come.

Very Cool,

Are you sticking a shot glass in it? Or just hollowing it out?

I started a janus carving quite awhile back and wanted to make a shot type mug out of it. Afraid it's probably to late to hollow it though.
(was thinking making a silicon mold, the making a plug for the indie to use for the cast)

Hey Aloha,

I had a similar thing with the piece I'm posting at the moment- started out with something in mind but had that AHA moment about joining both sides to make another face halfway through, the difference is, I didn't have the skills to pull it off like you have...

if you can do this 'off the cuff' I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with when you plan it out!
Awesome.

Badd - Yes - its wood and the lip is carved, not the best for doing shots. The glass protects the wood and will will also enable it to be washed. And - it looks really cool!

AM - I also look forward to the day that I carve something that has a plan. Most of the stuff I carve are impulse ideas. I'll do several to work out and problems and leave the finalized idea in my head - so I can one-up anyone that decides to rip off my ideas. The next tiki is always better the last. Not that anything tiki is original, but it helps my own sense of ownership.

On 2012-05-22 11:40, AlohaStation wrote:
I also look forward to the day that I carve something that has a plan

haha, yeah I think I know what you're saying, I do some rough sketches on paper but nothing too final, it's good see what happens as you carve and leave room for happy or unhappy (fancy firewood) accidents...

As far as original, I guess we're all 'inspired by' or 'ripping off' the art of oceanic/polynesian carvers from history but looking at alot of the work on this forum that I admire, everyone seems to have a personal style that comes through in their work. I don't think anyone could do your thing as well as you do even if they tried!

mahalo

I started cleaning up my work area and came across a project I had started a while ago and set aside. My goal is to finish it up this weekend. This was carved when the log was very wet, so I let it dry and now its ready. I just need to climb my tree to get some teeth for it.

WOW...looks like it is going to be an awesome piece. Glad you found it and excited to see what you do with it.

oh and be careful climbing the tree :)

Oh now this is rad as heck! Please tell me he's not going to be eating a bunny. (one pic kinda shows what I mean)

Mahalo

McTiki

Wicked Tom! What kind of "teeth" grow in a tree???

Wooden teeth of course MDM, usually found in gum trees. You have cajones Aloha for sticking that tongue/appendage out like that-Is it one piece? Nice work as always.

Here's a new pocket tiki. Carved in Walnut. 80%

She's a hottie Tom!

Dropped my daughter off at camp and saw some tree trimmers along the way...

nice...that base piece is gonna be RAD!!!

very cool...

On 2012-06-12 06:25, AlohaStation wrote:
Dropped my daughter off at camp and saw some tree trimmers along the way...

Nice and clean. How heavy is the bottom trunk? Some one is offering me some palm but it is still standing. I am trying to figure weight so I show up with the right transportation.

missed the pocket tiki before. That's nice.

On 2012-06-12 08:20, lava wrote:
How heavy is the bottom trunk? Some one is offering me some palm but it is still standing. I am trying to figure weight so I show up with the right transportation.

Depends on where you are. These were extermely heavy - mostly because they are full of water - when I stood them up water came flowing out. The fresh cut and the fact that I live in a swamp made this tree max out my truck (but I have a small truck). The real issue is getting them UP into the truck - luckily the tree trimmer guys volunteered some muscle.

yeah, when I saw the pic I was thinking to myself "the old Tacoma probably wasn't too thrilled about this haul"....

Rad score on the palm logs Tom.Last time i loaded up the ute like that I was freak'n out
the tail gate was goin to snap off!

Got greedy and went back for seconds. Thanks Will.

Got Fathers Day off to some carving, I dove in and made 2 whole buckets full of fresh wood chips. Not tiki - but almost, in a round about way. I'll have these in the marketplace soon if anyone is interested.

No one liked my joke I guess? Here's what I found under all those wood chips...

I cut the smallest log in half. The fresh palm is a pleasure to carve. Soft smooth and easily manipulated. Maybe too easy. When I cut the back out I may have taken too much. We'll see as it dries out.